cannabisnews.com: California Marijuana Advocates Target Prosecutor California Marijuana Advocates Target Prosecutor Posted by FoM on April 10, 2001 at 08:21:30 PT By Michelle Locke, Associated Press Writer Source: Associated Press In most places, district attorneys are bounced out of office if they appear too soft on crime. In this liberal county, that logic could be reversed. Marin County District Attorney Paula Kamena faces a recall vote on May 22 in part because advocates of medical marijuana argue she is too tough on marijuana smokers. At issue is Proposition 215, the law approved by California voters in 1996 that allows people to use marijuana for medical purposes provided they have a doctor's permission. Implementation of the measure has proven difficult, however, since it is vague on where patients can get marijuana, how much of it they can possess and who is qualified to grow it. County officials have varied widely in how they approach the issue. Some work closely with distribution clubs that sprang up after Proposition 215 passed and others take a harder line. Kamena says she's been unfairly painted as a pot prosecutor. Since she was sworn in as Marin County district attorney in January, 1999 medical marijuana cases have made up a tiny percentage of her office caseload -- 73 out of more than 30,000 -- and most were dismissed or ended in plea bargains. Kamena says she's declared that her office won't prosecute if individuals have no more than six mature or 12 immature plants and a half-pound of dry marijuana. But opponents say, far from being lenient, Kamena's guidelines follow federal law, which considers marijuana a contraband and effectively gives police a license to confiscate it, whether or not they make arrests. ``Every joint, every gram, every leaf, anything they can get their hands on, it's `Ha, ha, ha, the DA says this is all against federal law,''' says Lynette Shaw, director of the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana and a leader in the recall campaign. ``It's been really mean, and it's hurt the health of hundreds of people.'' The alliance, based in the small town of Fairfax, doesn't just want to get rid of Kamena. It has a list of five other county prosecutors organizers want turned out of office. ``This could be the start of something,'' says Chuck Thomas, spokesman for the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project, which is not involved in the recall. Kamena says the problem is that Proposition 215 is ``very convoluted and very complex. It is, in short, a mess. The idea of people who are ill who can benefit from marijuana -- I don't have an issue with that at all.'' Dennis Peron, who wrote Proposition 215, disagrees. ``The only people who have any trouble understanding the law is the cops and the district attorneys. What it is they don't understand is compassion,'' he said. In Marin County, a liberal enclave of stunning views and breathtaking home prices just north of the Golden Gate Bridge, Proposition 215 passed with 73 percent of the vote. Eight other states have authorized the use of medical marijuana. The recall petition against Kamena began on a quite different issue; it was started by parents angry about child-custody cases in Marin courts. That drive fizzled, but medical marijuana advocates later took up the cause, getting enough signatures to force the election, which is expected to cost $500,000. The wording of the petition remains limited to the child-custody complaint and Tom Van Zandt, a patent attorney, is running for the job if Kamena is turned out of office. Forced to campaign a year ahead of schedule, Kamena has been busily listing her achievements, including working to improve official response to sexual assault victims and opening a center where children who may have been sexually abused can be interviewed in a homelike setting. ``The question is, 'Do I deserve to be fired?' And my answer is, 'Absolutely not.''' Kamena says. Complete Title: California Marijuana Advocates Target a County Prosecutor On the Net: Kamena's Site: http://www.paulakamena.com/ Marijuana Policy Project: http://www.mpp.org Marin Alliance Site -- http://www.marinalliance.org/Drug Enforcement Administration: http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/ Source: Associated PressAuthor: Michelle Locke, Associated Press WriterPublished: Tuesday, April 10, 2001 Copyright: 2001 Associated Press Related Articles & Web Site:Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana -- http://www.cbcmarin.com/DA's Recall Effort Moves Forward -- http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9269.shtmlCalifornians Try To Recall Anti-Pot DAs -- http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9249.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #4 posted by kaptinemo on April 10, 2001 at 12:40:37 PT: "Trampling out the vintage..." "...where the Grapes of Wrath are found..."I can't carry a tune worth a damn', but this is what I feel like singing.And a bitter vintage it is, as Ms. Kamena and other antis will soon learn. And best of all? It was grown and nurtured by them, in their soil, with their hands. And now, they get to drink what they made so bitter. Literally, a taste of their own medicine.I always get a real tickle when antis wind up on the receiving end of what some of them honestly do believe they have they had a God-given right to do to others. How loudly they squeal! The sound grates the ears, but is music to the soul of anyone who's been the recipient of their 'tender mercies'. As I've said it before, the local antis will find there's a lot of angry people between them and their supposed supporters in DC. Their neighbors are a lot closer to them than the bureaucrats in the DoJ and the ONDCP are. The local antis think that Washington will come riding in to save the day by trying to trump States Rights with Federal law.Aint gonna happen. The Feds know all too well that they have eady been caughtwith hands where they shouldn't be; The Barryola Scandal wiht the FCC, the tapes showing Barry and his cronies plotting to undermine democracy by by working behind the scenes to gut Prop215, and now the company involved in producing Barry's little PSA were caught overcharging Uncle for them. Shame shame shame.There's a huge mess of pottage with several C4 charges sitting under it that could cause the US Guv some serious embarrassment if an enterprising Cochranesque lawyer were hungry enough to pursue and pull the det cord. Which is part of the reason why the Feds are hoping that the Supreme Copurt will side with them on the Oakland issue. But even that won't stop the States from sticking it to the Feds, just out of sheer spite; many have been saddled with unfunded Federal mandates for years, and would love to make Uncle squirm for a change.Friends, if this gathers momentum, the antis will have to strip off the smiley mask thats been hiding the snarl they only show to their victims when they think no one else is looking. When that happens, the game is over.Keep squealing antis, keep squealing. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Jeaneous on April 10, 2001 at 12:28:31 PT: Made it to CNN cite! This story is now on the front page of cnn's webpage. Finally nation wide.http://www.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/04/10/potpolitics.ap/index.html?s=7 [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by CongressmanSuet on April 10, 2001 at 12:02:49 PT: Do I deserve to be fired?... Absolutely not! Now, Paula, if you dont mind, please clear out your personal items from your former office, and try to do it before 5, thank you..... [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Cuzn Buzz on April 10, 2001 at 09:09:42 PT: Circular Filing Kamena could have saved herself and a lot of other people a lot of worry by making it known that pot cases sent to her office would be sent straight to the circular file...in keeping with the will of the people.Since she did not act in accord with the will of the people the people now act to remove her from office....this is as it should be.Like all sociopaths Kamena feels she has done no wrong.Why am I not surprised? [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: